The Los Angeles Police Department’s officer Michael McMahon has tightly sowed an underdog narrative starring himself and the mostly unnamed LAPD officers rallying behind him against the COVID-19 vaccination mandate. Officer McMahon is a co-founder for the anti-vaccination group Roll Call 4 Freedom (run by LAPD officers). A series of dramatic posts to the Roll Call 4 Freedom Instagram page culminated in officer McMahon informing followers on Friday evening that he had been relieved from duty. In the video, McMahon affirms his anti-vaccination beliefs and claims that he could possibly face termination from the department over his refusal to adhere to the COVID-19 vaccination mandate. He also shared a written statement which included a bizarre and offensive slight against Black Lives Matter protests.
Rather than simply comply with the law and take steps to protect himself, his loved ones, his co-workers, and his community; officer McMahon has elected to abandon his alleged oath to “protect and serve.” In case there was any ambiguity over where McMahon’s loyalties lie, McMahon himself told the public what his choice would be between staying as a police officer versus refusing the COVID-19 vaccine. In an interview with far-right influencer and Capitol rioter Jess Weber (who stole a riot shield from Capitol police on January 6th), officer McMahon says that his anti-vaccination stance was a “much more important battle” than being a police officer.
This isn’t the only time McMahon has spoken with far-right media. He has done interviews with NEWSMAX, OANN, and the Stew Peters show (where McMahon notably spread anti-Semitic George Soros conspiracy theories). The Weber interview took place at one of the many far-right anti-vaccination rallies that featured Capitol rioters, Proud Boys, and other extremists in attendance. Several of these rallies (promoted by officer McMahon and Roll Call 4 Freedom) resulted in violence initiated by the rally participants. I reached out to Roll Call 4 Freedom to ask what their role was in the organization of these far-right events, and the group takes credit for promoting the rallies on their website and on social media. Alarmingly, LAPD is the department in charge of policing these rallies. Having officers police a rally that they support and promote is a major conflict of interest, and it would explain why no far-right extremists have been arrested at these rallies, despite committing violence on camera and right in front of LAPD’s primary headquarters. A photojournalist captured images of an officer with a striking resemblance to Officer McMahon at the September 18 anti-vaccination rally, which Roll Call 4 Freedom promoted. The rally saw several journalists assaulted by far-right extremists.
Officer McMahon is not an outlier. It’s been reported by the Washington Post that thousands of LAPD officers are seeking vaccine exemptions. Links between far-right extremists, anti-vaxxers/anti-maskers, Capitol rioters, & LAPD continue to surface. It’s so normalized that McMahon and officers like him don’t even bother hiding it. LAPD refuses to police Proud Boy violence occurring right in front of their headquarters. It appears the allegations of political bias for far-right extremists from LAPD hold water, and now there is major cause for concern regarding conflicts of interest now that officers have even helped promote the events that they’re policing. But in the end, officers like McMahon are very transparent with where their allegiances lie. If officers are having allegiances that contradict and overpower their loyalty to their badge and profession, how can we trust LAPD as a department to ensure that the safety of Angelenos is the priority, versus political goals of individual officers.